Saving Philippine Idol

Last night, Ryan Agoncillo announced on Philippine Idol that no Idol contestant would be voted off for the week, owing to technical issues on the part of Sun Cellular and Smart Telecommunications, resulting in votes unsent to Sun and confirmation messages not received by voters on Smart. Ideally, that results in two expulsions next week.

This is not the first time Philippine Idol has allowed this to happen; just three weeks ago, Typhoon Milenyo spared Drae Ybanez and Stef Lazaro from being voted off that particular week. Technical problems aside, Philippine Idol is hobbling on wounded legs, and, I’m sure, rapidly losing followers week after week.

Among the many issues undoubtedly facing the local incarnation of the famous Fremantle franchise are:

Dwindling ratings. After decent first-week ratings, Philippine Idol’s ratings are arguably questionable. With word-of-mouth on Internet forums and visits to fansites decreasing, as evidenced by lower unique visitors, Philippine Idol is certainly losing whatever first-mover advantage it had. Shifting time slots (performance nights from Saturdays to Sundays, and result nights from Sundays to Mondays, placing the show at the mercy of the Philippine Basketball Association’s unpredictable time slot) do not help the show. Indicators of the show’s struggle are the advertisements – most are ads of ABC-5, San Miguel products, and Smart Telecommunications.

Credibility issues. The recent voting off of Reymond Sajor and Drae Ybanez, two of the strongest male competitors, the almost inexplicable longevity of at least three Idol contestants of questionable talent, and the bottom finishes of Pow Chavez, Gian Magdangal, and Mau Marcelo, three of the judges’ preferred choices and arguably among the best of the 12, are denting the show’s credibility as a breeding ground for true, lasting talent.

Unfair voting channels. While the Philippines is a democracy, all channels for voting are paid channels, unlike in the United States, where phone calls are toll-free. Allegations of massive vote-buying by family and friends of the more affluent candidates are rampant. While this is certainly not illegal, it may call into question the fairness and true democratic nature of the competition (i.e., a contestant with legions of fans who cannot afford to vote will lose out to a contestant whose few family and friends can afford to send the text messages and buy the phone cards).

So what avenues are available to ABC-5 and Philippine Idol? This fan humbly suggests that the organizers of the show take into account the full extent of the Fremantle franchise. This may still be a business, as far as ABC-5 honchos are concerned, but the American Idol franchise allows one aspect of the democratic process that ABC-5 should consider: FREE PHONE CALLS.

Forgive me for making it sound so ridiculously simple, but allowing free phone calls can democratize the process in favor of the candidate with the most fans, which is what you want. You want the fans who will buy the albums, attend the concerts, and support the career of the winning candidate. More than anything, you’re fighting for the credibility of the franchise, and unfortunately, the moneyed candidates are not of the same caliber as the ones who have neither the money nor the bloc with the necessarily financial capacity to carry them to victory.

If a moneyed candidate of inferior quality wins (and allegations are rampant for at least three of the candidates), you can expect that candidate’s career to expectedly flounder. A candidate who wins on the sheer basis of money and not popularity can expect a short and embarrassing career.

Allowing free phone calls bridges the gap and can increase ratings. People will vote. People will watch, because now, they have a better chance to participate and directly influence the vote. As it is, people are wondering why the inferior candidates are not being voted out. Might it be not because the Filipino people are not making the choice, but they are trying to, and cannot, because their sheer numbers cannot defeat the almighty peso power of those whose financial resources are deep?

How can Gian Magdangal, for instance, a candidate touted as a frontrunner since the beginning, and with an obvious fan base, if one scours the Internet forums, online discussions, and search engine results, continue to languish at the bottom? How can Mau Marcelo, an obvious top choice, place in the bottom three with Gian and Reymond Sajor; for the same reason, how can Pow Chavez, a woman supported by, among others, Kris Aquino, land in the bottom four?

For the sake of the argument, can we not say the number of people voting are not the issue here, but the number of votes that these people can manage to send?

Above all, Philippine Idol is a popularity contest, and popularity should not be gauged by sheer voting ability alone. Admittedly, the other reality singing competitions also have no free voting implements, but Philippine Idol should be different because it aims to reach to a different target market altogether. We’re looking for a star who will reach across social barriers and classes. If the masses are not given the opportunity to participate in the selection of such, would it really be accurate and fair to call the winner of this competition the Philippine Idol?

Update: In the interest of not rocking the boat, I’ve deleted the section that augustman found offensive. It’s not that I do not doubt my sources; it’s just that it takes away from the essence of this post, which is to encourage ABC-5 to think about free phone calls for voting purposes.

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Hi! Welcome to the travel blog of James Michael Deen, or Ganns, to friends and family. Please feel free to look around, or visit www.gannsdeen.com to read about how awesome God is.

20 comments

What a nasty comment about a woman singer. I am sure you have no proof to justify your demeaning allegation. And not naming name made it worse as all the lady contestants are now subjects to your horendous accusation. Shut up!

Forgive me for making it sound so ridiculously simple, but allowing free phone calls can democratize the process in favor of the candidate with the most fans, which is what you want. — i agree with you on this one.

i really believe that the producers can do so much in boosting the rating of the show.

Migs: Welcome back, man! Thank you for the nice compliment; it’s taken with gratitude.

Joaquin: My pleasure, bro.

augustman: I’m sorry, but I think you misinterpreted my statement. That ‘lady singer’ is not a member of the Top 6 ladies in Philippine Idol; she is an established professional female singer.

I appreciate all the ladies of Philippine Idol certainly more than the gentlemen, I can tell you that. I am not one to foster false allegations; I can assure you my statements are not without basis. In the interest of not besmirching any lady’s reputation – like most blind items are wont to happen, because I am not in the mood for a libel suit swung against me – I kept it a blind item. I can assure you it is not any of the women in the Top 12 of Philippine Idol.

At the end of the day, my blog is but one tiny blog in the sea of the Internet. I apologize if you felt slighted, especially if you are supporting a female Idol contender (I am supporting four of five remaining females, if you must know), but rest assured that it was intended with no malice and intention other than to support my hypothesis that free phone calls will benefit Philippine Idol’s results and ratings.

[…] starting next week, the performance night will be on Sunday and the results on Monday. great! finally, a schedule i like! *update* okay, i just realized that this new schedule will not benefit the show at all. i mean, being at the mercy of the unpredictable schedule of the PBA game (which comes before PI on sunday) will throw off the patience of PI fans who dont watch PBA. also, the fact that the PI performance shows run an hour and a half long will mean that the show could end at around 11pm at night during performance nights… this could mean the loss of viewers who have to attend school or work the next day. sino na lang ang boboto? my suggestion would be to stick to the current schedule, or move the show to 8:30pm, thirty minutes earlier… neither too late or too early for a primetime show. i think a thursday performance night and a friday results night would also be good. i cant explain why, but putting it on a weekday just like in A.I. would probably do the show some good. ABC5, this show needs to be saved! Ganns Deen made a post on how this could be done… check it out [[[here]]]. i agree with everything he wrote. Free Phone Voting please!!! this is the key to winning back the viewers and gaining new ones… audience involvement at no cost. […]

I was expecting that Philippine Idol has toll free phone voting when it started. So, i was really dissappointed when i found out they don’t have that option and thought that the contestant with a lot of money will actually win. It seems to show it since the better singers were eliminated first. Just a thought, what if Philippine Idol decides to have toll free numbers now for voting, what about the three idols who were eliminated already??? I don’t think it is fair for them right? It’s a good suggestion, i just hope the three who were eliminated be given a chance again…coz i think everyone agrees that they are better than the other contestants who are still in the competition…=)

WERLAVU: why not have a head on competition with the lowest among the judges and the lowest sa votes (since the lowest vote have always been the ones who have the real “K”)…then have credible judges judge right then and there …but the judges should not have prior knowledge of the identities of who’s singing…they would just listen …for the purpose of identifying the better singer…
kasi the turnout of this competition is very very very very disappointing….
well this is just a thought,…

Why is Philippine Idol doomed in the ratings game? IMHO, the obvious culprit is the shifting schedules. Whatever is the reason for shifting the schedules so hastily, ABC-5 has shown its disregard for viewers. I notice that ABC-5 has been trying to strategize by considering what the other local channels (GMA-7 and ABS-CBN 2) are showing at the same time on the same day. The Idol franchise has proven itself worldwide. ABC-5 believes that by eschewing the time slots of shows from competing channels, i.e, Pinoy Pop Superstar and Pinoy Dream Academy, it can capture a sizeable viewing segment. Wrong! Idol viewers are LOST trying to DECIPHER about the real time schedule! The frustration on shifting schedules can drive away viewers, like me. Not to mention that the PBA games’ scheds can be too erratic!

Another reason why viewing Philippine Idol has become cumbersome? It’s because they have a lousy host in the person of Ryan Agoncillo. Too many booboos week after week. Why did ABC-5 hire this guy? There are better hosts who can do the job, even if they don’t have the namesake of “RYAN” (as in Seacrest). Obviously, it’s one factor why they chose Agoncillo, because he has a namesake like Seacrest’s. Well, it’s not working. Having a lousy host is no excuse.

Melinda, you’re right on the money with switching schedules. I totally agree that it goes against logic and reason to regularly switch the schedules of a show on which so many hopes (and millions of pesos) are hanging.

Regarding Ryan, well, he will have his fans and his detractors. Like the selection of judges – and I’ve made my opinion on the judges relatively clear – we can’t control that and may just have to live with it, knowing that the Idol franchise can always change them next time around.

In American Idol’s maiden season, Seacrest was joined by a second host, Brian Dunkleman, who opted to leave by the second season. Suffice it to say that his decision may have been one of the stupidest career moves next to Andy Richter’s leaving Conan O’Brien. I’d give Ryan A. a chance, like ABC-5, to adjust, given this is the maiden season.

The ousting of Apple Chiu is another step toward the PI’s doom. It seems every week the Idol is turning “bad to worse.” When Mau and Gian will finally sang their final song, then PI is bound to be 6 feet under the ground. Not even switching to another time slot will resurrect ABC 5’s PI.

Hi there!!! I hope ABC-5 would consider free toll for votation, I agree that we should participate by voting but not all Filipinos can afford that. Please consider phone calls for voting should be free. Goodluck, Mau, Gian and Jan.

OUTSTANDING SINGING TALENT and X-FACTOR should be the main considerations for choosing the Philippine idol, not what we frequently hear as “total packaging”, not dancing prowess, not intelligence or smartness, not even “kabaitan or kabuting ugali”. Remember that the greatest idol phenomenon ever produced by this country (it’s Nora Aunor, where you like it or not) was not great beauty, not a dancing queen, not really known for her intelligence or smartness, and not the best example in terms of moral uprightness. BUT she had genuine singing talent, and that mysterious aura about her that captivated the masses. Real idols are not made, not by media hype nor convention ( na dapat maganda siya, pleasing personality, versatile, at mabait para maging huwaran ng bansang Pilipino!), but they come claiming their title and their place in history armed with their unique talent (and for Pilippine Idol, it has to be EXCEPTIONAL SINGING TALENT) and that X-factor. If the other qualities happen to be present, the’re icing on the cake.

ganns thank you for speaking up for the rest of us. i think that toll free calls for voting is a great idea. i for one know firsthand of one who is “vote-buying.” this guy among our dreaded-but-most-likely-to-be top three has a parent who has connections. these connections, perhaps to please the parent, “campaign” for this guy because he is the son of some important government official. now isn’t this a bit unofficial, or should i say unethical to include in official meeting campaigns for people to vote in PI? i have no complaints for people who vote for their kin even though someone else is more deserving, but this is too much. and pls abc5, you are in business, would you rather not find alternatives for a more democratic process of voting, one which is not run by money. you’re in business, think of something! think of it as an investment. after the contest are usually recording contracts. would you invest in someone who won because of votes of a few rich people, or of many c or d level people? is popularity judged by the peso volume of votes, or the number of voters? will those who voted ten thousand worth of load every week also buy ten thoudand worth of copies of the same album?

hi… i’m not really an avid fan of philippine idol, but since i’ve heard my friends talk about it all the time, i guess it would not hurt to know a bit about it. Well I was happy that Mau won the competition, but as of what I’ve heard of my friends, they wanted Apple to stay more than Mau. I do not mean to offend the Mau fans, but that is just waht I’ve heard. I guess I have no rights to say something because i do not really watch it, but my point is actually this: Why can’t we, the filipinos, have only the for the finals (e.g. Gian, Mau, Apple, pow)? Why choose between a Mau, an Apple or a Gian to go early out of the competiton when we can have them all in the finals? It would not really hurt to have someone with a personality (e.g. Sanjaya) to stay in the competitions, in fact I like it that way, PROVIDED s/he would at least not look inferior to the more competent ones (e.g. Jordin to Melinda, sorry but Sanjaya is not an example hehe). Well I can’t blame Filipinos because even in other countries (like U.S.A.), the best NEVER wins (remember Melinda?). I hope that there will come a time that the deserving ones actually deserve their place.